The car wash industry overall has a lot of potential.  The recession appears to be influencing the vehicle maintenance habits of American motorists. As the economy has slumped and credit lending tightened, U.S. car owners are putting a greater emphasis on car repair and appearance to help increase vehicle longevity, according to the Elbow Grease Economics survey released by 3M Car Care.  

More than one-third of respondents (34 percent) said they feel the need to take better care of their cars because they cannot afford a new one. In addition, 55 percent said they planned to keep their existing cars longer, and 84 percent are committed to performing regular maintenance to keep them running properly… 

 
With regard to vehicle appearance, 11 percent said keeping their cars looking good was a top priority, and 26 percent of car owners indicated they are taking better care of their vehicles’ appearance to keep them looking new. Interestingly, that number increased slightly to 28 percent among car owners who were unemployed at the time of the survey. 

The percentage of consumers who usually wash their cars at home continues to decline, according to new data released by the International Carwash Association. Some 65.6 percent of consumers surveyed said they use a professional carwash, up from 62 percent in 2005, the last time the study was released. Just 34.4 percent of respondents said they prefer to wash their cars at home, compared to 38 percent three years ago.

Consumer preference for home car washing has been on a steady decline during the last decade, dropping about 10 percent since 1999. The preference for using commercial carwashes has increased about 10 percent during the same time frame.

The figures are part of the ICA’s Study of Consumer Car Washing Attitudes and Habits report.

As home washing has declined, fluctuations in the popularity of carwash service segments have been mixed. Consumer use of in-bay automatics has had the steadiest growth since 1996, growing nearly 10 percent, although full-service is still highest among segment popularity at about 20 percent.

Not surprisingly, consumers appear to associate or expect a quality wash from full-service carwashes, with 66 percent of respondents indicating that wash quality at these locations is extremely important. By comparison, 57 percent said wash quality was extremely important during home washing.

Expectations for superior wash quality seems to be less in other service segments, with 50 percent of respondents saying wash quality was extremely important when using an in-bay automatic (defined by the survey as stationary automatic), compared to 49 percent when operating self-serve equipment and 47 percent when visiting an exterior wash.

While experience is not necessary to succeed in the car wash industry, some basic business sense, motivation to consistently deliver the highest level of quality service in order to maximize customer satisfaction and basic marketing skills will only make your business better.